From the Washington Post:
Late Friday afternoon is the golden hour for making announcements that you hope won't get much attention. The news coming out of the Department of Health and Human Services right now is no exception: The Obama administration has halted work on health reform's Community Living Assistance Services and Support, or CLASS, Act after finding it too difficult to implement.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has this to say about CLASS being dismissed.
The action stands to reduce expected revenues from the health reform law by $86 billion, as well as raise questions about why the provision was included in the health reform law to begin with.
There has always been concern about the CLASS program;s long-term stability. The long-term insurance program relies on voluntary enrollment. If only a small group of unhealthy people — those who anticipate using the services — sign up, the program could quickly destabilize.
An actuarial review that Health and Human Services has just released confirms those fears: The administration could not design a long-term care program that would both hew to the health reform law -- which requires that CLASS beneficiaries receive a minimum of $50 in benefits per day -- and make the program actuarially sound.
The Obama administration today acknowledged what they refused to admit when they passed their partisan health bill: the CLASS Act was a budget gimmick that might enhance the numbers on a Washington bureaucrat's spreadsheet but was destined to fail in the real world. However, it is worth remembering that the CLASS Act is only one of the unwise, unsustainable components of an unwise, unsustainable law. We should repeal the CLASS Act and the rest of the health spending law and replace it with the type of common-sense reforms that lower costs and Americans support.Technorati tags:
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